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Law office cord cutting
RICHARD WEINER
Technology for Lawyers
Published: January 11, 2019
“Cord cutting” in its current usage is a term that derives from millennials getting away from heavily pre-packaged (and expensive) content providers like cable television companies and instead picking and choosing smaller, self-chosen content via streaming media devices.
Cord cutters don’t rely on their televisions to see content, although “smart” TV’s stream, and they just pick the shows they want to see without being stuck paying for content they will never watch. Cord cutting is changing media in big ways--it is a primary reason ESPN is in financial trouble, for instance.
How does that apply to the law office, you ask?
Well, in the long run a substantial amount of law practice is going to be via remote access, and the cord to be cut, in this case, is the fact that most documents, data and office management software are stored on servers in an office. There is a cost for storage and maintenance, and switching over to cloud practice management is daunting, especially for small offices.
While large offices can afford to ease into the cloud, a small office needs a solution to be able to really be mobile. Where large offices have IT departments to handle the maintenance or conversion, small offices don’t. Most of the time, the lawyers or staff need to handle data management in addition to their other duties (like practicing law).
One solution that has come down the pike is Blue Stylus (www.bluestylus.com). It is completely mobile solution that connects to every device and only charges a user for features actually used—exactly like a cord-cutters television usage.
Blue Stylus says it is a one-stop solution that features include document sharing, document downloading, tracking and secure storage, billing and time tracking, and prices that immediately cut the cost of data storage and management. Like cord-cutting media streaming services, there is no contract and it can be paid month-to-month.
Plus conversion from the land-based software office to the cloud-based is apparently easy and stress-free. It can be done by the firm, without the need of an IT department.
Small/ solos should take a look at this. Let me know what you think.